The Rigged System and the Real Economy: Corbynism, Antisemitism and Productivist Critiques of Capitalism

This chapter surveys the theoretical roots of the antisemitism crisis associated with the British Labour Party since Jeremy Corbyn’s accession to power in 2015, specifically with reference to the notion of capitalism as a ‘rigged system’ imposed by the unproductive on the productive. Drawing on heterodox Marxian critical theory, the chapter suggests that this notion can create an environment where antisemitic perspectives are legitimated. It concludes that ‘truncated’ or ‘personalised’ critiques of capitalism block a properly critical and historical analysis of capitalist social relations, and thus fail to come to terms with the current transformations in capitalist society, with dangerous consequences for left politics in an age of authoritarian nationalism.